A word or phrase becomes another when an interior letter is
removed. Example: ONE = simile, TWO =
smile.

DELETION (*7, 4-2)

We found a TWO for shelter from the sun-
So unrelenting was the summer heat-
And looked out at the sparkling Gulf of ONE,
Where long ago the Turks had met defeat.

=Mangie

The solution: ONE = Lepanto, TWO =
lean-to.

A deletion may include more than two words. A famous old
example: NINE = startling, EIGHT =
starling, SEVEN = staring, SIX = string, FIVE =
sting, FOUR = sing.
(Do you want to go on to THREE = sin and
TWO = in? In NPL terms, those are not
deletions but one curtailment and one beheadment. You could still
use all eight words in one puzzle, but you’d have to warn
the solver that two-unspecified-steps were a curtailment and beheadment, not deletions.)

In the rarely seen Baltimore
deletion, each letter in turn is removed to form a new
word. For example, TOTAL = peat, ONE =
eat, TWO = pat,
THREE = pet, FOUR = pea.

In a bigram deletion, a word or
phrase becomes another when two consecutive interior letters are
removed. For example, ONE = catenary, TWO
= canary. (This would appear on the
solutions page as “ca(te)nary.”)

In a repeated-letter deletion, a
word or phrase becomes another when one letter is removed
wherever it occurs. For example, ONE = bassist, TWO = bait; or ONE =
prospered, TWO = rose-red. (The solutions would appear as
“ba(ss)i(s)t” and “(p)ros(p)ered.”)

In a reversed deletion, after
you’ve deleted a letter from the first word, you reverse it
to get the second. Example: ONE = espalier, TWO = relapse. (This
would appear as “espal(i)er.”)

All sorts of combinations of these elements are possible. An
example of a repeated-bigram deletion:
ONE = derrières, TWO = dries. This would appear as
“d(er)ri(èr)es.” A repeated-trigram deletion: ONE = card-carrying, TWO = drying.
This would appear as “(car)d-(car)rying.” A
repeated-tetragram deletion: ONE =
George Orwell, TWO = well. This would appear as “(Geor)(ge
Or)well.”

In a phonetic deletion, a word or
phrase becomes another when an interior sound is removed. For
example: ONE = revelry, TWO = reveille. For discussion of what constitutes a single
sound, see phonetic flats.

A word or phrase becomes another when its first letter is
removed. Example: ONE = factor, TWO =
actor. If the parts of the solution are
all single words, the length of only the longest is given; if any
part is a phrase, all parts are enumerated.

BEHEADMENT (6)

I wonder if this SHORTER stole,
Though slightly tattered, still is WHOLE.

=Wabbit

The solution: WHOLE = usable, SHORTER =
sable.

Beheadments occasionally include more than two words. A famous
example is ONE = aspirate, TWO =
spirate, THREE = pirate, FOUR = irate, FIVE =
rate, SIX = ate.

In a bigram beheadment, a word or
phrase becomes another when its first two letters are removed:
ONE = delivery, TWO = livery.

In a phonetic beheadment, a word or
phrase becomes another when its first sound is removed. All parts
are enumerated. For example: ONE = basalt,
TWO = assault. For discussion of what
constitutes a single sound, see phonetic flats.

Reversed beheadment: after beheading
the first word, reverse it to get the second. Example: ONE =
petal, TWO = late.

A word or phrase becomes another when its last letter is
removed. Example: ONE = stingy, TWO =
sting.

CURTAILMENT (8)

I’m a young LONGER chemist, but so far I’ve
failed
To discover a drug that’s as good as CURTAILED.
My motives are pure: to make the world healthy
And in the process become really wealthy!

=Mr. Tex

The solution: LONGER = aspiring, FINAL
= aspirin.

A curtailment may consist of more than two words, though these
are rare. An obscure but dazzling example: ONE = chorizont (one who ascribes the Iliad and the Odyssey
to different authors-look it up in NI2 if you don’t believe
it!), TWO = C-horizon (a particular layer
of soil), THREE = chorizo (a kind of spicy
sausage).

In a bigram curtailment, a word or
phrase becomes another when its last two letters are removed. For
example, ONE = satiety, TWO = Satie.

In a phonetic curtailment, a word or
phrase becomes another when its last sound is removed. For
example: ONE = qt (as in “on the
qt”), TWO = cute, THREE =
queue. For discussion of what constitutes
a single sound, see phonetic
flats.

In a reversed curtailment, after
curtailing the first word, you reverse it to get the second.
Example: ONE = stinky, TWO = knits.

A word or phrase is changed to another by removing its first
and last letters. Example: ONE = foregone,
TWO = Oregon; or LONG = self-worth, SHORT = elfwort (a
plant). If both parts are single words, only the longest is
enumerated; otherwise, both parts are enumerated.

TERMINAL DELETION (6)

I’ve taken up fencing;
So far I’m no winner.
Learned two words already:
First “FATTER,” then
“THINNER.”

=Talon

The solution: FATTER = touché,
THINNER = ouch.

Progressive terminal deletions
contain more than two words or phrases; they are rare. A simple
example: ONE = lament, TWO = amen, THREE = me.

In a phonetic terminal deletion, a
word or phrase is changed to another by removing its first and
last sounds. For example: ONE = kwacha (a
Zambian coin), TWO = watch. Only the
enumeration of the first part (ONE) is given.

In a reversed terminal deletion, a
word or phrase is changed to another by removing its first and
last letters and reversing the result. For example: ONE =
rebirth, TWO = tribe.

A word or phrase is deleted from a longer one, leaving a
third. For example, TOTAL = performance,
ONE = man, TWO = perforce. Only the length of the longest word or
phrase is given.

WORD DELETION (10)

Since math is not our country’s forte,
We’ll soon be short of engineers
Unless it’s made a high-school sport
With pom-pom girls to lead the cheers:
“Read that journal! Comprehend!
Take that ALL from the minuend!
Integrate from max to min!
OUT that angle! IN, IN, IN!”

=Treesong

The solution: ALL = subtrahend, IN =
rah, OUT = subtend.

If the cuewords are ONE and TWO, the inside word is ONE and
the outside word is TWO. The same is true for other cueword pairs
that have a natural order: FIRST goes inside SECOND. Avoid using
a pair of cuewords (like HERE and THERE) that doesn’t imply
an order. Other common cuewords for word deletions are IN and
OUT, INNER and OUTER, and WITHIN and WITHOUT. Cuewords like these
are especially kind to the solver, since they clearly show which
is the inside word.

In the two-word deletion, two
consecutive words or phrases are deleted from a third to leave a
fourth. Example: WHOLE = organgrinder, ONE
= gang, TWO = rin
(a Japanese coin), THREE = order.

Three-word deletions and more are possible.

In the progressive word-deletion,
three or more words are nested to form a longer one. ONE is
always innermost. Example: WHOLE = consecratory, ONE = Ra, TWO =
sector, THREE = cony. The progressive word-deletion was invented by
Tut and introduced in January 1973.

A word or phrase becomes another when one letter is deleted
and the others are transposed. A transdeletion must
have at least four parts, each part one letter shorter than the
one before. The cuewords are the lengths of the parts. For
example: NINE = righteous, EIGHT =
roughest, SEVEN = troughs, SIX = sought, FIVE =
ghost, FOUR = shot.

TRANSDELETION (8)

My date had downed two SEVEN of wine;
I didn’t care for that a bit.
A SIX ensued. He threatened. Fine!
I grabbed my coat and FIVE and lit.
He didn’t follow me outside,
And soon I was back home again.
A nickel and a trolley ride
Had done it. EIGHT were different then.

Letters should be shuffled in each step. Avoid any simple
deletions (or beheadments or curtailments). When unavoidable, they must be
noted.

In the Baltimore transdeletion, a
word or entry phrase is turned into a series of others by
removing each letter in turn and rearranging the rest; the first
letter is removed to form ONE, the second letter is removed to
form TWO, and so on. For example: TOTAL = baker, ONE = rake, TWO =
kerb, THREE = bare,
FOUR = bark, FIVE = beak.

BALTIMORE TRANSDELETION (5)

Jenny’s a demanding FIVE. She called; my THREE
was ended.
I TWO to do her bidding-first, some playtime
recommended.
We went through the accustomed ONE with Jenny’s
little FOUR;
She squealed at my falsetto “Wee!” and
indicated “more.”
At length I got her dressed and in her stroller, not the
car.
We went off to the corner WHOLE for milk; it isn’t
far.
Then home again. And feeding time. And diapers yet to
fold.
And Jenny wanted Mom to play. They do grow up, I’m
told.

=Mangie

The solution: WHOLE = store, ONE =
rote, TWO = rose,
THREE = rest, FOUR = toes, FIVE = sort.

The letters should actually be shuffled each time. Avoid
simple deletions; note them with the puzzle if they do
appear.